Comment: Hi I was at a bird of prey centre in the UK last year and the
bird handler told everyone to take off their hats (it was winter) as the
eagle owls would think they were prey and land on your head. He said that
this happened to a photographer in Canada. The owl landed on his head and
because once their talons keep clenching till tight, as a reflex, the owl
dug into the man's skull and because they couldn't pull the bird of, it
killed him. I've heard this rumour before but can't find anything on
Google about it.I'd love to know if this is true.

Do eagle owls dive bomb like falcons? Most owl strikes don't have that much weight or speed behind them, it's the power and depth of the talon grip that is the most dangerous. Still, I wouldn't want one hitting me at full force, especially if the talons pierced the neck or temple.

If one was determindly hanging on as suggested by the OP (which I think unlikely, as they can certainly control their "reflexes" when dropping prey for an owlet or mate) you could always kill it if you had to, or certainly a group of people could. It's not like you'd have to lay there like a rabbit until you died.

I could see an owl attacking a human if it felt threatened; most birds are pretty sensitive when it comes to people coming too close to a nest, for example. But I can't imagine too many owls taking on something the size of a human as prey, even if it did look like you had a bunny on your head.